Toy fungo bat



Nov. 19, 1963 B. TOPPER TOY FUNGO BAT Filed Dec. 6. 1960 BERNARD VYBPPER INVENTOR.

BY MS Anne/r5 18.

\ pensle r/ .H

United States Patent 3,111,314 TOY FUNGG BAT Bernard Topper, Los Angeles, Calif assignor to C. Bernard Kaufman, Los Angeles, Calif. Fiied Dec. 6, 1960, Ser. No. 74,125 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-26) This invention pertains to toys and more particularly to a toy fungo bat.

An object of the present invention is to provide a toy baseball bat for fungo practice.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a toy fungo bat adapted to contain toy baseballs therein.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a toy 'fungo bat adapted to contain toy baseballs therein and to singly eject the baseballs into the air to be struck with the bat.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawing in which a presently preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawing is for the purpose of illustration and description only, and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

The structure of the present invention toy comprises a fungo bat having its larger striking end hollow to contain the toy balls therein, an opening in the peripheral wall surface being provided for insertion of the balls into the hollow portion of the bat and the subsequent ejection of the balls therefrom. An ejection mechanism is mounted within the hollow end portion and adapted to selectively, singly eject balls contained within the hollow portion. In use, the bat is held with the opening uppermost so the balls will be ejected upwardly to enable them to be struck with the bat while still in the air.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 shows an elevational view, in cross-section, of a presently preferred embodiment of a fungo bat in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of the ejection mechanism;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a partial top view of the ejection mechanism of FIGURE 3; and,

FIGURE 6 is a partial bottom view of the ejection mechanism.

Referring now to the drawing there is shown in FIG- URE 1 a presently preferred embodiment of the bat of the present invention. The bat consists of a hollow elongate member 11 formed in the general shape of a baseball hat. The bat member 11 can be formed of light Weight plastic and is intended for use with light weight plastic balls 12 of a predetermined diameter, the interior diameter of the bat member 11 being slightly larger than the diameter of the balls :12, as shown. The larger striking end of the bat member 11 defines an opening in the peripheral wall surface 13 thereof for insertion of the balls 12 into the hollow portion of the bat. Protruding inwardly from the inner surface of the bat member 11, are a pair of parallel guide rails 14 and 15, the guide rails 14 and 15 extending longitudinally within the bat and positioned diametrically opposite the opening 13. Balls 12 contained within the bat rest upon the guide rails 14 and 15. Mounted to the inner surface of the bat 11, between the guide rails 14 and 15, is an ejection mecha- 3,111,314 Patented Nov. 19, 1963 "ice nism consisting of a spring 16 and a spring loaded trigger device 17. The spring 16 includes a flat portion 18, fastened to the inner surface of the bat 11 by plastic rivets 19, a recurved intermediate portion 21, and a generally semicircular end portion 22. Mounted at the extremity of the end portion 22 is a securing pin 23. The spring 16 is shown in its free position in FIGURE 1, and in a distorted position in FIGURE 3.

The trigger device 17 can best be seen from a study of FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 and 6. The trigger device 17 includes a pulley block 24, a pulley 25 rotatably mounted within the yoke of a pulley block 24, and a spring loaded latching cam 26. The latching cam 26 is slidable with respect to the pulley block 24 and normally urged to the illustrated forward position of FIGURE 1 by the force of a coil spring 27. The latching cam 26, as can best be seen in FIGURES 3 and 5, is U shaped with the legs of the U forming tapered cam surfaces 28 and 29. The spacing and normal positioning of the tapered cam surfaces 28 and :29, in relationship to the securing pin 23 at the end of the spring 16, is such that the extremity of the end portion 22 of the spring 16 will fit between the cam surfaces 28 and 29 with the securing pin 23 laterally extending past these cam surfaces.

Attached to the central portion of the securing pin 23 is one end of a wire 31, the wire 31 passing under the pulley 25 and extending between the guide rails 14 and 15 to a cocking knob 32 positioned in -a hole at the end of a handle 33 of the bat 111. By pulling the cocking knob 32 longitudinally away from the end of the handle 33 of the bat 11 will cause a downward movement of the free end 22 of the spring 16, the movement of spring 16 being from its normal position as shown in FIGURE 1 to the distorted position shown in FIGURE 3. As the cocking knob 32 is pulled the securing pin 23 in the end of spring 16 moves downwardly until the protruding ends of the pin 23- contact the cam surfaces '28 and 29. A further pull on the cocking knob will cause the pin 23 to exert a biasing pressure upon the inclined cam surfaces 23 and 29 to thereby move the latching cam 26 longitudinally against the force of the coil spring 27. When the securing pin 23 passes beneath the cam surfaces 28 and 29 the force of the coil spring 27 will return the latching cam 26 to its original position, thereby retaining the securing pin 23 beneath the latching cam 26 and holding spring 16 in the distorted position shown in FIGURE 3. Thus the spring 16 and the trigger device 17 are in a cocked position.

Attached to the latching earn 26 is one end of a wire 34, the wire extending longitudinally through the bat 11, over a protrusion in a trigger 35, and is secured to the handle of the bat at a point 36. The trigger 35 is in the form of a leaf spring. One end of the leaf spring is aflixed to the interior surface of the hat by means of plastic rivets 37, a central curved portion of the spring extending through an aperture in the handle of the bat as shown in FIGURE 1, and the other end of the spring 35 terminating in a loop within the handle of the bat 11, the wire 34 passing over the loop. Actuation of the trigger 35 by depression of the central portion of the spring urges the loop end of the spring axially inward to thereby increase the tension on wire 34 to thereby cause the latching cam 26 to longitudinally slide toward the handle end of the bat 11 against the force of the coil spring 27 and release the end of the spring 16.

In operation, the bat is grasped by the user and the cocking handle 32 is pulled to latch the spring in the distorted cocked position shown in FIGURE 3. Suitable balls are inserted into the bat and rolled into alignment as shown in FIGURE 1. One ball is positioned so that it is resting on the generally semi-circular portion 22 of the spring 16. The bat is held in a horizontal position with the hole through the wall surface 13 being uppermost. The trigger 35 is then actuated, thereby sliding the latching cam 26 to release the spring in the manner hereinabove decribed and allowing the spring to snap back to its normal position (shown in FIGURE 1) to upwardly eject the ball resting thereon, the user then swinging the bat 11 at the ball while the ball is still in the air. The return of the spring 16 to its normal position will also serve to retain within the bat other balls contained therein. When the cocking handle 32 is again pulled, the spring is again latched in the distorted cocked position as shown in FIGURE 3 and a second ball is allowed to move forward toward the end of the bat past the depressed portion of the spring as shown in FlGURE 3 to come to rest on the generally semi-circular portion 22 of the spring 17 in alignment with the opening 13. The second ball can then be ejected and upon cocking of the mechanism a third ball is moved into the ejection position.

Thus there has been described a novel toy fungo bat adapted to contain toy baseballs and to singly eject the baseballs into the air to be struck with the bat. Although the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

A toy baseball bat comprising in combination: an elongate member having an exterior configuration shaped like a baseball bat of cylindrical cross-section having a smaller diameter handle portion and a larger diameter striking portion extending from opposite ends of said member with an intermediate portion tapering from said larger diameter to said smaller diameter, said larger diameter end portion being hollow and defining a circular opening in the peripheral wall surface thereof proximate the large end of said bat, said opening being adapted for the insertion therein of a sphere of a predetermined diameter smaller than the inside diameter of said hollow larger diameter end portion and for the ejection therefrom; manually operable spring ejection means mounted within said hollow larger end portion and adapted to be selectively placed in a first cocked condition and to be selectively released from said cocked condition to a second ejection condition to eject through said circular opening one of said spheres when said one sphere is contained within said hollow end portion in alignment with said opening, said elongate member being adapted for the striking of said sphere upon its ejection therefrom; said spring ejection means being so constructed and arranged that only one of said spheres can be aligned with said opening when said ejection means is released from said first to said second condition, said ejection means being so constructed and arranged as to allow passage of one of said spheres within said hollow portion into alignment with said opening when said ejection means is in a cocked condition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,499,128 Shroyer June 24, 1924 1,594,006 Eliason July 27, 1926 2,024,506 Bratrud Dec. 17, 1935 2,279,766 Truesdell Apr. 14, 1942 2,322,212 Allen June 22, 1943 2,622,880 Walsh Dec. 23, 1952 

